Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes

Introduction: Athletes are more exposed to mental and physical stress and injuries, affecting performance and health. However, evidence shows that endurance but not power athletes have greater longevity when compared to their non-athlete peers which could be explained by health factors. Objective:...

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Main Authors: Christianne de Faria Coelho-Ravagnani, Mário Sérgio Vaz da Silva, Jeeser Alves de Almeida, Adriano Percival Calderaro Calvo, Fabricio Cesar Paula Ravagnani, Sérgio Itacarambi Guasque Faria, Alan Nevill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde 2025-03-01
Series:Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde
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Online Access:https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/15316
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author Christianne de Faria Coelho-Ravagnani
Mário Sérgio Vaz da Silva
Jeeser Alves de Almeida
Adriano Percival Calderaro Calvo
Fabricio Cesar Paula Ravagnani
Sérgio Itacarambi Guasque Faria
Alan Nevill
author_facet Christianne de Faria Coelho-Ravagnani
Mário Sérgio Vaz da Silva
Jeeser Alves de Almeida
Adriano Percival Calderaro Calvo
Fabricio Cesar Paula Ravagnani
Sérgio Itacarambi Guasque Faria
Alan Nevill
author_sort Christianne de Faria Coelho-Ravagnani
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Athletes are more exposed to mental and physical stress and injuries, affecting performance and health. However, evidence shows that endurance but not power athletes have greater longevity when compared to their non-athlete peers which could be explained by health factors. Objective: To compare the lifestyle characteristics and health profile between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study comparing male athletes recruited between 2013 and 2016 (n = 147) representing 13 sports, which were divided into two categories: strength/velocity (SV) and endurance/mixed sports (EM). The non-athlete adult group was selected according to the National Health Survey. Athletes were assessed using health questionnaires, anthropometric, blood pressure and resting electrocardiograms measurements. Results: SV had higher body weight, body mass index, and blood pressure compared to the EM (p < 0.05). In addition, higher use of pharmacological substances, tobacco, and poor perception of health was observed in SV athletes. When compared to the non-athlete population, the EM showed a lower prevalence of overweight (56% vs. 26%), hypertension (18% vs. 3%), and self-reported depression (4% vs. 0%) while SV showed a higher prevalence of poor health perception (49% vs. 30%). Conclusions: Our findings reaffirm that athletes have higher health status than the general population but that more in-depth analysis must be carried out in sports with different natures.
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spelling doaj-art-8d5f6d2d1684460192a2143c6fa82c1c2025-08-20T03:39:54ZengSociedade Brasileira de Atividade Física e SaúdeRevista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde2317-16342025-03-012910.12820/rbafs.29e0373Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletesChristianne de Faria Coelho-Ravagnani0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9082-6521Mário Sérgio Vaz da Silva1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6940-1046Jeeser Alves de Almeida2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3409-8005Adriano Percival Calderaro Calvo3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3307-4252Fabricio Cesar Paula Ravagnanihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2758-0549Sérgio Itacarambi Guasque Faria4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9531-5683Alan Nevillhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0506-3652Federal University of Mato Grosso do SulFederal University of Mato Grosso do SulFederal University of Mato Grosso do SulBrazilian Air Force UniversityFederal University of Mato Grosso Introduction: Athletes are more exposed to mental and physical stress and injuries, affecting performance and health. However, evidence shows that endurance but not power athletes have greater longevity when compared to their non-athlete peers which could be explained by health factors. Objective: To compare the lifestyle characteristics and health profile between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study comparing male athletes recruited between 2013 and 2016 (n = 147) representing 13 sports, which were divided into two categories: strength/velocity (SV) and endurance/mixed sports (EM). The non-athlete adult group was selected according to the National Health Survey. Athletes were assessed using health questionnaires, anthropometric, blood pressure and resting electrocardiograms measurements. Results: SV had higher body weight, body mass index, and blood pressure compared to the EM (p < 0.05). In addition, higher use of pharmacological substances, tobacco, and poor perception of health was observed in SV athletes. When compared to the non-athlete population, the EM showed a lower prevalence of overweight (56% vs. 26%), hypertension (18% vs. 3%), and self-reported depression (4% vs. 0%) while SV showed a higher prevalence of poor health perception (49% vs. 30%). Conclusions: Our findings reaffirm that athletes have higher health status than the general population but that more in-depth analysis must be carried out in sports with different natures. https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/15316AthletesLifestyleHealth behaviors
spellingShingle Christianne de Faria Coelho-Ravagnani
Mário Sérgio Vaz da Silva
Jeeser Alves de Almeida
Adriano Percival Calderaro Calvo
Fabricio Cesar Paula Ravagnani
Sérgio Itacarambi Guasque Faria
Alan Nevill
Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes
Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde
Athletes
Lifestyle
Health behaviors
title Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes
title_full Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes
title_fullStr Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes
title_full_unstemmed Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes
title_short Health and lifestyle risk factors: a comparison between Brazilian athletes and non-athletes
title_sort health and lifestyle risk factors a comparison between brazilian athletes and non athletes
topic Athletes
Lifestyle
Health behaviors
url https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/15316
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